Armored rail bond



P 2, 1952 H. H. FEBREY 2,609,147

ARMORED RAIL BOND Filed March 26, 1948 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 p 1952 H. H. FEBREY ARMORED RAIL- BOND 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Filed March 26, 1948 il Viv ]NVEN 0R. HAROLD H. FEBREY,

Patented Sept. 2, 1952 UNITED STATES PATEll-IT "FICE.

g ARMORED RAIL'BOND Harold Hi Febrey, Cleveland, hio, as'signorto. The Americansteel and Wire Company of New Jersey, a'oorporation of New Jersey ApplicationMarch26, 1948, Serial No. 17,312

. 2/ Claims:

Tlii's'iiivention relates torail bonds, and more especially to the association of helically-preformed armor rod reinforcements with railbonds and their disposition between the failand the splice barat the joint or application.

Rail bonds should affordz' resistance Longfatigue life Accommodation of normal rail movements (4) Certainty to fail in abnormal rail movements (5) Facility of installation "(6) Facility ofinspection andmaintenanc'e.

one of the bonds finding popular acceptance as liaving these'ret uisites is the rail headbond; which is small; massive, easily installed, and readily accessible for inspection and repair. The rail-head type of bond, however; being exposed, is vulnerable to damage from railroad rolling stock and from heating which occurs when" the rail ends are built up by welding or are being heat-treated. Long sections of track have been stripped of such bonds by hanging rigging or broken undergear projecting from beneath" passing trains which shears-on the bonds and disrupts the signal I current in amanner similar 1 to a-rail break or track failure. j

It has been proposedto dispeseraii bonds below the headofthe ra-ilat-the rail web or at the base,

and, in order to obtainmaximum protection, to i install such bonds behind the splice bars. In the case of outside bonds, since such bonds. are of necessity of considerable length in order to's'pan the splice bar, they admit of abnormal rail movements even to complete track failure at the joint without themselves failing to give warning of the existing danger by impairment of the signal current. In the case of inside bonds, the conductor was delimited in size by the size of terminal which could be threaded between the splice bar and rail, and this resulted in an increased length to diameter ratio which rendered the bond overly flexible and incapable of sustaining its own weight over the span of the joint. Not only did such a bond present diiliculties of installation, as is evident in trying to push any long, limp body through a confined space, but, once in place, the bond became subject to dropping into the crevice formed by the base of the splice bar and the rail web adjacent the base'of the rail, where it was pinched and chafed and quickly destroyed this interfered'withthe laying of trackand" is heldin disfavor by-tlie track gangs.-

It is the main object of this-invention to provide an inside-bond which will have the requisites of the. rail head bond without'thedisadvantages usuallyassociated with such bonds, as'discussed above. Other objects and advantages hereinafter to appear will be better'understood by reference to the accompanying specification co nsid-' ered in conjunction with the accompanying' drawings, in which;

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a'- rail bond adaptable to the invention.

Figs. 2 and 4, and-'3 and 5, areside and end views;- respectively, of helically-preformed armor rods for association Fig; 1 I

Figs.- 6', 9 10', and-l1, are side views and secnonar view of i the rail bond -'-a-rmor-*rod-' combinations 'acc-ording to this. invention, Fig. 10 being regarded as a section along line 10-40; Fig; 9.

I Fig. 7 is-a fragmentary sideelevational-view-of a conventional railjoint construction showing a bond a ft'er the presentinvention installed behind the splice bar. 7 i

Fig. 8 is anenlarged sectional viewtaken at 8*8 Fig. '71 while Figs. 12 to 15; inclusive, show modifications and certain detailsof the invention;- 1 f In the drawings, in-wliic'lr correspondence between the reference characters and identified parts obtains throughout, rail bonds l0; comprised of'a conductorll and'terminals I2 are,

constructed to a size readily tobe inserted'between a splice bar l3, a railway rail I4, and associated track bolts l5, and of a length sufficient to project beyond the ends of the splice bar to points of attachment to the rail webs, as shown in Fig. 7. This attachment may be effected by an expanding pin 12a for the type shown in Fig. 6, or may be accomplished by welding or any other suitable method.

In order to augment the effective diameter of the rail bond, and to make it stiff and capable of sustaining its own weight for the length involved (usually a minimum of three feet is required for this type of installation), a helically-preformed I armoring of hard-drawn wires 1 6 having an internal helical diameter substantially equal to the external diameter of the conductor I I is disposed along its length for a distance equal to or greater than the length of the splice bar l3. As appears in Fig. 8, the armor rod I6 prevents the conductor from being pinched between the splice bar and rail and provides a wear-resistant cover for the with railbonds similar to at the points where it is led to the terminal fasten;

ings on the rail web, thus to preclude its accidental disengagement from the terminal 'wraps of the armor rod.

of armor rods in overlapping relation. These may be identically formed and coextensively Fig. 11 illustrates the application of a plurality comprising a flexible cable element longer than the splice bar extending between the latter and the rail and projecting beyond the ends of the splice bar with terminal portions attached to the rail, and a helically-preformed armor rod having a pitch length several times greater than the diameter of said cable element encircling the latter at least around its portions enclosed between the splice bar and the rail, said helicallypreformed armor rod having a preformed helix of gradually diminishing pitch length adjacent to the terminal portions of said cable to confine and hold the latter.

2. In combination, a railroad rail and splice bar assembly comprising a rail joint, a rail bond comprising a flexible cable element longer than the splice bar extending between the latter and the rail ends and'projecting beyond the ends of disposed about the conductor, or they may be formed so that only theopposite outer ends of each rod have the diminished pitch length I1, to be applied to the conductor whereby only the regular helical portions overlap and leave the portions ll projecting beyond the ends of the overlapping portion.

In Figs. 12 and 13, the conductor H is completely enclosed by a tubing of armor rods I6, which may also include the diminished pitch length portions H, but which by virtue of the complete encirclement and mutual sustention of the rods, renders this construction unnecessary.

Since the armor rods 16 are helical, they have the capabilities of being bent or looped with great flexibility Without axial displacement relative to the conductor, and this notwithstanding their essential stillness and rigidity. Hence, an

expansion loop 18, as shown in Fig. 15, and as is indicated by broken lines in Fig. 7, may be provided by crimping the conductor after the armoring is in place upon it, or by preforming armor rods in this manner. Similarly, as shown in Fig. 14, the armoring may be curved axially adjacent its ends fairly to lead the conductor and its terminal portion to its placeof attachment to the rail.

Although it has not been specifically illustrated, it will be understood that the armored bond of the present invention may be disposed on, top of the track bolts l5, as shown at IS in dotted lines, Fig. 8, as well as beneath them as otherwise indicated in this figure.

1', claim:

.1. In combination, a railroad rail and splice bar assembly comprising a rail joint, a rail bond the splice bar with terminal portions attached to the rails, a helically preformed armor rod encircling said cable element, said armor rod being of a size and strength snugly to encompass said cable element and to stiffen and support the same so that they may be pushed between the rail and splice bar from one end, said armor rod being of open pitch to permit installation upon said cable element without necessitating deformation exceeding its elastic limit while being sufficiently confining to support said cable element so that its longitudinal axis is essentially coincident with the helical axis of the armor rod throughout their coextensive portions, said portions being of an overall diameter sufliciently great to protect the cable element against pinching between the several parts of said joint.

- HAROLD H. FEBREY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

I UNITED STATES PATENTS Number- France Nov. 18, 1929 

